[Zope] Re: root privileges required

[Vangelis Mihalopoulos]

On 28 Jul 2004, Ken Manheimer wrote:

> That's key, though.  Your application is going to be a less attractive
> target for attacks than zope to the degree that it is a less prevalent
> application than zope.  This doesn't mean that you shouldn't be careful to
> make your application secure - but it does mean that you have a lot more
> lattitude than zope, the application, to provide for your special
> local-host security concerns.

 I agree with you. But what if i am implementing a file manager? With 
capabilities like upload/downloading any file in all filesystems? Even if 
i implement a privileged XML-RPC server which only listens requests from 
the local host (from Zope that is), i don't think security is tighter. If 
someone breaks into [the non-privileged] Zope, he can still use the 
privileged server to do as much harm as he pleases.
 I believe it comes down to what exactly are the privileged actions. If it 
is simply a very specific task that would not compromise the whole system 
security, that model is a "must". But if the privileged actions are more 
generic, with abilities to harm the whole system, then running Zope as 
root is of no importance.

 Thanks for your answer,
 Vangelis